


Tales of Atlantis: Prisoners

by KD writes (KDHeart), xyzmary2001



Series: Tales of Atlantis [10]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, F/M, Hostage Situations, Torture, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Wraith, Wraith Enzyme, Wraith Feeding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-02-22 07:10:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22512115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KDHeart/pseuds/KD%20writes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xyzmary2001/pseuds/xyzmary2001
Summary: John has a reputation of resisting the influence of a Wraith Queen, but can he withstand the effect of Wraith enzyme without becoming a worshipper?
Relationships: John Sheppard/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Tales of Atlantis [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/105398
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last part we wrote before we started re-re-re-re-re-re-editing/writing the whole thing... KD doesn't even remember writing it (she's firmly convinced this was still just an outline), but it apparently didn't need much editing. This might explain why she has no memory of it.

"This is not good," muttered Catherine to herself, finally looking away from her microscope. She couldn't be sure yet, but if the latest tests were conclusive, the pathogen had picked up yet another mutation.

She prepared a new test sample and checked again.

"Are you kidding me? As if you weren’t enough of a pain in the ass already!" Scowling at the offending sample, she grabbed her radio.

"Dr. Weir, can you hear me?" she called impatiently.

After a second, the radio hissed to life. "Dr. Spencer, how can I help you?"

"Do you have a minute? I have to talk to you. It's urgent." Catherine could already see the look on the other woman's face. Her urgent news was never good news, after all.

As if she could read her thoughts, Elizabeth Weir took a deep breath. "Should we expect another quarantine?"

"Not as far as I know," Catherine hurried to assure her. "But things aren't looking too bright in the near future."

"I'll be in my office."

Catherine turned off her radio and put it away.

Just once, she wished she weren't the bearer of bad news.

o0o0o

Teyla was already in Dr. Weir's office, with a giant, hairy Athosian man by her side, when Catherine arrived.

"Dr. Spencer, you're just in time," Elizabeth greeted her. "Halling here was telling me of a possible outbreak on one of the planets the Athosians trade with."

Elizabeth didn't look as grim as the news of a new outbreak entailed. Still, people can build up a tolerance to the hardest of situations and Elizabeth was always calm under pressure.

"Then I'll prepare the medical team for departure. We should have enough serum," Catherine said.

"It's actually good news," Elizabeth cut in. "Apparently, the locals managed to stave it off by themselves. The planet has an incredibly diverse flora that we have yet to study in detail. They're known in three Solar Systems for their trade in medicinal plants, or so Halling assures us."

"They have access to a natural cure?" Catherine asked incredulously, turning to Halling. She couldn't have wished for better news at that moment, but she doubted luck was smiling on them, especially considering how tricky the pathogen was turning out to be.

"They have helped my people over the years with many plagues and ailments," Halling confirmed. "Their planet is blessed with herbs of great potential and their healers have passed on their knowledge over the generations, some dating back to the times of the Ancestors. If anyone could come up with a way to fight this, they have the highest chances to." There was admiration in his voice and he seemed to have great confidence in these people.

"I know we already have a cure, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to check this out," Teyla added with a smile, reminding Catherine why she was there to begin with.

Under the circumstances, Halling's lead couldn't have come at a better time. Maybe they  _ were _ lucky for once.

"Actually, this was exactly why I wanted to talk to you," Catherine told Elizabeth. "Recent tests indicate the pathogen is mutating rapidly, adapting to our treatment. If it continues changing at this rate, we'll need to start looking for an alternate cure. I can't even guarantee the immunization we got after our previous encounter with it will keep us safe in the future. I've never seen anything like this. It's like it has a mind of its own."

It was an absurd idea, but the only alternative was that someone was constantly changing it as it infected other planets. Nothing of the intel they had gathered so far led them to believe there was someone orchestrating this whole mess.

"I take it you advise us to look into this," Elizabeth said, steepling her fingers.

"Yes," Catherine agreed eagerly. "Definitely!"

o0o0o

A few hours later, John, Catherine and Halling were standing in front of the Gate, waiting for Elizabeth to clear them for departure. They were in full gear, but Catherine's medical equipment outweighed their arsenal for this trip - she needed to get very in-depth readings of the locals' symptoms. She had also insisted they all wear surgical masks as a minimum precaution against infection. They looked like something out of a video game.

"Remind me again," John asked her, "why McKay isn't joining us this time?"

"He doesn't have a Ph.D. in alien flora, he said," Catherine told him with a shrug. "I can't blame him. I hate alien pathogens as much as the next person."

Not that they needed McKay for this mission - he had nothing tech-related to do, plants really weren't his forte and he could really pass on hearing him complain about his allergies on the way there. Plus, they didn't even need a full team for this. The fewer people got involved, the better. Still, it was interesting to watch Rodney develop an increasingly efficient skill for weaseling out of off-world missions that had anything to do with their favorite pathogen.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have Ronon with us, though," John insisted, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind rearing its head.

"Unless he can beat an alien pathogen into submission, I don't see what help he can be this time," Catherine commented with a smile.

"John, you have a go," Elizabeth informed them as the Gate came to life. "Please don't take any risks!"

John gave her a salute. "Yes, sir!" he said with a wink and led the way through the Gate.

o0o0o

The other side of the Gate opened on a summer landscape with clear skies and luxuriant vegetation as far as the eye could see. Much closer than the vegetation, however, were the guns aimed right at their heads and the people holding them with very sure hands. Something wasn't right with this picture.

"We're here in peace," John assured them, raising his arms to prove he wasn't a threat. "We hear you took care of some medical issues we'd like to know more about," he continued, giving Halling a wary look. The guy looked just as confused as he was.

"They are not local," said the Athosian.

"I was hoping you weren't going to say that." John took another look at their welcoming committee and one of them caught his attention. He knew that face. On a second glance, even the weapons looked familiar. "You guys work for Kolya, don't you?" he said resigned.

"I'm glad to see you're as perceptive as always," Kolya's smug voice came from behind them.

"We gave you the stone, what could you possibly want from us now?" Catherine suddenly joined in, unable to keep out of trouble. "You can at least wait until we find something else before you steal it from us."

"If it isn't the brave little lady from last time," Kolya said with a smug grin. He stepped closer. "I must congratulate you, Sheppard, on your choice of bodyguards. Not that she's very threatening, but I bet she does a fine job at night."

Catherine choked before spitting out a "Not as good as your Mom!"

John grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him. Not that he didn't appreciate a 'your Mom' joke, but it really didn't suit Catherine and what the hell was he supposed to do if he couldn't make stupid jokes in the face of danger? She was never allowed to make 'your Mom' jokes again. He was going to send out a memo when they got back.

In the meantime, he threw her a warning look, hoping she'd take the hint and stay quiet until he diffused the situation.

"I was expecting a higher level of bad jokes from you, Kolya. You're the sleazy villain, but this is beneath even you," John said, still keeping a hand on Catherine's arm just in case. "Why don't you cut to the chase and tell us what you're after so we can get to the part where you lose, already."

"This time, it's you I'm after," Kolya said cheerfully. "Drop your weapon, Colonel! We'd better do this nice and efficiently. I need you in one piece, after all."

"Not that I don't appreciate your concern, but I can stay in one piece just as well with my weapon in hand," John smiled. He was much more worried than he let on, but he wasn't going to show any weakness to Kolya.

"Well, we can do this the hard way, then." Kolya's smirk broadened. He gave his men a curt nod and instantly Halling was on the ground, his leg bleeding profusely. "Next time, I'll aim for something vital," he said, rubbing his hands like the cliche villain he was. "And if you still refuse, the girl's next."

Catherine pulled out of John's grip and knelt at Halling's side to administer first aid.

John would have loved nothing better than to wipe that grin off his face with a bullet, but they were outnumbered and they were probably dead before he even aimed his weapon. He couldn't chance it. He cursed under his breath and warily put his gun down by his feet.

"Kick it over," Kolya instructed. "And any other weapons you have on you. I'm not stupid."

He wanted to contradict Kolya on that last point, but Catherine was busy patching up the Athosian and he didn't want to give her more work. He pulled out his spare pistols and a couple of hunting knives he had strapped to his ankles. "That's it!"

Kolya didn't look convinced, but he signaled his men to proceed. In a split second, they were surrounded by the rebel Genii. John caught a glimpse of Catherine being knocked unconscious before he joined her in the land of the concussed.

o0o0o

"Unscheduled off world activation," Chuck screamed as Elizabeth stormed out of her office.

"Do we have a signal?" she asked. They only had one team out and it wasn't the kind of mission that should bring any trouble.

"It's Halling, I think," he confirmed. He was the only Athosian that was currently away and the signal was undeniably the one they had assigned to his people.

"Lower the shield," she said, holding her breath in anticipation. It couldn't be good news.

To confirm her worries, Halling stepped through a minute later, alone and limping. He looked terrible.

Elizabeth climbed down the stairs to join him in the Gate room, calling for a medical team as she went.

"What happened?"

"The Genii. They were waiting for us by the Gate. They took Col. Sheppard and Dr. Spencer," he managed to say before collapsing.

Elizabeth hesitated a moment, before touching her earpiece. "Rodney, we have an emergency!"

o0o0o

Four hours later, they still had no clue. Halling gave them the full story, as much as he had been conscious for. He didn't really have much and Lorne's team came back from the planet with even less intel. There was no trace of Genii or of their people.

Elizabeth tried to contact Ladon Radim, only to find out that he had gone missing a few days ago. The Genii had no knowledge of what happened, except that the rest of the team he had been with, had been found dead, drained by the Wraith.

"This is probably the most active Gate in this whole galaxy, second to ours!" Rodney complained, still going through the data from the Gate's memory. "There's no way to see what was the last dialed address and we still haven't ruled out the possibility they got there by ship." Reluctantly, he turned to Zelenka, who was muttering something in Czech - probably profanity, considering the situation. "You got anything?"

"No, Rodney. With you distracting me every five minutes, I can barely keep up with my own thoughts," he sighed.

"If we knew what they needed them for..." Rodney mused.

"Last time Kolya kidnapped John, it was to get his hands on Radim," Elizabeth pointed out.

"But he's missing, too," Zelenka noted. "I'm assuming they already have him."

Rodney wasn't surprised he was the smartest man in the room (Atlantis, really, but this wasn't the time to gloat). "What if they don't? What if they want to use John and Catherine as a bargaining chip?"

It actually made sense once you looked at it like that. They had let Halling go, hence, he was of no use to them. If they already had Radim, Kolya would have been too busy torturing him, or already sending his head neatly wrapped with a bow back to his people. Conclusion, Radim was held by someone with an interest in John Sheppard. That didn't narrow things down by much, but it was a start. He doubted Catherine was a target here, she hadn't been on Atlantis long enough to make that many enemies outside of the city.

"That narrows the list of suspects to a quarter of the Galaxy," Ronon intervened. "I still think it was the Genii. If you'd let me 'talk' to them, we'd have this sorted much sooner," he assured them.

"But we can narrow the list further if we keep one thing in mind. Radim's team was killed by Wraith," Elizabeth reminded them.

A long silence followed, everyone considering the grim implications of her words. That was one hell of a common enemy. If Kolya thought he could negotiate with  _ them _ to get his vengeance, he was madder than anyone had given him credit. Then again, he was the guy who tortured John with a Wraith. He never was the sanest person in Pegasus and he already had a history with everyone involved.

"I'll contact the Genii. Maybe they have something by now," Elizabeth said, but she barely finished when the Gate came to life and she heard the now all too familiar 'Unscheduled off world activation'. This time, it was the Genii and they had news.

o0o0o

John woke up to a splitting headache and a churning stomach. Always the back of the head! Hadn't these people learnt about sedatives? Every time they wanted you unconscious, they had to try to crack your skull open!

He rubbed the lump on his head while the images around him slowed down in their dance. He was somewhere dark that smelled strange... so the usual, then. There was a dank, musty smell in the air he was sure he had smelled before.

_ A Wraith cell. _

Once the realization dawned on him, it was easier to make sense of what he was seeing, too. The vines in the walls were too organic to be anything else.

His heart started racing and he frantically started to look around for Catherine and Halling. He was alone.

He stood up on shaky feet and staggered to the door of his cell.

The hallway was deserted and dimly lit.

"Hey!" he shouted into the empty corridor, sure it was going to attract nothing but trouble.

When no one answered, he decided against calling out again. He already pushed his luck once. With nothing better to do, he started looking through the contents of his pockets. There was nothing helpful there, not that he expected them to be that sloppy in their search.

"John!" he heard a faint voice from nearby.

"Catherine?" he called back, waves of relief washing over him. She was still alive.

"I think it's me," she said. "I can't be sure until this headache goes away. Don't these people know about sedatives?" she complained and John was happy to have the expert's opinion on his side.

He looked around for her and eventually realized there was a small shape huddled against the wall of the next cell over. He walked to that side of his cell, thankful for the organic structure that didn't leave them completely isolated.

"Where the hell are we?" she asked after he sat down on his side.

"Wraith cells, by the look of it," he informed her. "No clue how we got here."

"I'm not that worried about 'how'. 'Why' is a far more pressing question right now," she said.

Come to think of it, Catherine was right. Kolya was mad as a hatter, but he wasn't known for his friendship with the Wraith. Last he checked, the Wraith working for him hated him just as much as he did. If he did capture them to hand them over to the Wraith, it definitely wasn't with the best intentions.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling we're about to find out," he said, hearing steps down the corridor.

o0o0o

P3G - 42X was, according to the Genii, the planet where Radim was spotted about the time John and Catherine had been captured. A team was immediately dispatched to take a closer look and determine if he was still there. Ronon, Teyla, and Major Coburn joined the Genii hit squad on the other side of the Gate and hurried to the abandoned warehouse where the Genii spies had reported Radim might be held prisoner.

"If I see Kolya, I kill him," Ronon said, setting his stunner to kill. He was done with all the niceties and second chances everyone kept giving the rebel Genii. "He crossed the line and danced over it once too many times," he growled. "No one touches him. He's mine." He looked around menacingly, inviting anyone to contradict him.

It came as no surprise that no one did.

Teyla placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We are right behind you," she assured him. She was not going to stop him. No one was going to. Even Coburn knew better than to argue with Ronon. As for the Genii hit squad, they were probably relieved to shed the responsibility of dealing with their ex-commander.

When they finally reached the warehouse, it proved to be a ruin. To the untrained eye, it probably looked deserted, but they advanced with caution. The land still bore footprints, if you knew where to look. Nothing too obvious - they had been careful, but not careful enough to avoid a Satedan's trained eye.

"There should be about twenty, give or take a couple," Ronon informed them after a quick recognizance and started walking towards the building with feline grace. The others followed, not quite as stealthy.

He was about ten feet away when the shooting started. He took out the shooter before he got the chance to kill anyone, but their presence was revealed. With the element of surprise already lost, Ronon sprinted for the entrance and almost bumped into the second rebel who stormed out of the warehouse only to get stabbed by almost seven feet of angry Satedan.

The fight that followed was as brief as it was fierce. Two Genii were killed by the rebels, with many more casualties on the other side. Coburn, deciding to follow Sheppard's patented example, threw himself in the thick of the fight, taking down three rebel guards and earning himself a knife in the arm. He ignored it, passed the P-90 to his other hand and continued to shoot down the hallways. Seeing him in action, Ronon decided he liked him.

Ronon doubted they were going to find Radim alive, if that was where they kept him to begin with. In all the commotion, Kolya probably decided to cut his losses and killed him at the first sign of intrusion rather than give him the chance to get rescued.

"Over here!" Teyla shouted from the upper level. She had taken advantage of their attack to slip by unhindered and check ahead.

Ronon ran up the stairs, throwing over the banister a stray rebel that was trying to make his escape, stupidly, down the stairs. He reached Teyla before she had a chance to go into the holding space that their 'friends' had been guarding. He almost pitied the horrified rebel that was holding a trembling gun to Radim's head when they walked in.

"Stop where you are, or I kill him," the man squawked.

Ronon took a step forward.

"I couldn't care less," he growled. "Tell me where Kolya is and I may let you live."

"He'd kill me, anyway, if I betrayed him."

"He might, but I definitely will if you don't put that gun down," Ronon promised.

Before the man got a chance to answer either way, his head exploded, bits of skull and brains splattering over an unconscious Radim.

Ronon spun around furiously to see who had the nerve to cut his interrogation short. It was one of the Genii, probably too worried about Radim's fate to take that kind of a risk for Kolya's whereabouts.

He took a menacing step toward the man, but Teyla stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "You would have done the same, had John been in that chair."

He recognized the truth in her words. Unfortunately, when the firing finally stopped, Kolya was nowhere to be found and none of his men survived to be interrogated.

"We still have Radim," Coburn said by way of consolation.

Indeed, they had him and if he wasn't going to tell them everything he knew, he had another thing coming.

o0o0o

After a short argument with Coburn - the man had a knack for short arguments - the Genii agreed to accept the hospitality of Atlantis until Radim was cleared by their medical personnel and he shared all his knowledge of the Wraith incident.

Once in the Infirmary, they discovered that the reason for his unconsciousness was that he had been repeatedly stunned over a short period of time. A couple of hours and a few shots of adrenaline later, he was finally awake enough to cooperate, despite his monster migraine.

Dr. Biro called Elizabeth to his bedside as soon as she considered it safe for him.

"Dr. Weir, we meet again under less than fortuitous circumstances," he greeted in a faint voice.

"Indeed we are," she said. "It's a habit I wish we could break." She gave him a thin smile, barely hiding her dislike for him. Even the darkest of circumstances weren't bad enough to make his presence here welcome.

"Let me assure you of my full cooperation. I have no idea how I got here, but I have a pretty good idea why your men saved me," he said.

"Then you know it is a matter of urgency, as well. Where are my people?"

"I wish I could help. I sincerely do," he assured her. "Unfortunately I have no idea of their current whereabouts. I only know where the Wraith made the exchange with Kolya. Even after the last incident, I wouldn't have believed him capable of this just to get his hands on me. Looks like I was underestimating him."

"We all were, apparently. Can you give us an address for where the exchange took place?" Elizabeth hoped against hope that it would be enough and wouldn't turn out to be another dead end.

"After being rescued, it's the least I can do. Actually, I can give you not just the address, but also a good idea of what you'll find there."


	2. Chapter 2

The Wraith Queen that entered John's cell was older than any Queen he'd ever had the misfortune to encounter. She was stunning the way being shot repeatedly with a blaster was stunning. Her tall frame was lean and gaunt, surrounded by the odor of decay that was probably more than just bad breath. Her eyes, however, were alive and burning with a mix of curiosity and hatred.

"John Sheppard," she hissed, her voice grating on his ears.

Behind her, a couple of male Wraith, a head shorter than she was, but still towering menacingly over John, were overseeing the scene, standing guard over their Queen.

The gasp coming from Catherine's direction reminded him she had yet to meet a Wraith Queen.

"Looks like I'm famous. Even royalty knows me by name," he said with a smug smirk. He wished he felt as confident as he let show.

"Famous?" the Queen laughed. "You're infamous! So many of my kind have lost their lives at your hands and those of your people. I finally get to meet the legend." She took a couple of steps forward, leaning towards him.

He did his best not to stagger backwards, away from her.

"Not as many as we'd like," he assured her. He was looking out the corner of his eye for any way out. "But I can fix that for you." He knew he was probably about to get killed, but as long as he kept their ire on him, he might buy Catherine some more time.

"So little regard for life," the Queen snapped. "Were I not aware of your history, I'd wonder if it is courage or stupidity. Whichever it is, I might have a use for this destructive streak of yours."

She stopped a step away from him, his back now pressed against the tangle of vines that separated his cell from Catherine's. To his horror, the queen reached out a hand towards him and he had nowhere to retreat to from there.

"Kneel!" she ordered, her fingers brushing lightly against his hair. The entire power of her will seemed to push down on him, forcing him to obey.

"Kneel!" she insisted and he felt his feet begin to tremble under the pressure.

He put everything he had into defying her. He was not going to submit without a fight. He was probably going to get killed for his defiance, but he was going to get killed anyway, so why wait?

"I said, kneel!" Her voice resonated directly in his head, filling every neuron and sparking all his synapses. The need to obey was nearly unbearable, but he gritted his teeth and stood his ground. His right hand grabbed on to one of the vines at his back, holding on with what strength he had left. His head felt like it was splitting apart, every seam in his skull pulling apart and exploding into shards.

"Hey, ugly!" a shaky voice cut in surprisingly loudly. "Get away from him!"

Something flew above his head and hit the Queen on the side of her head, breaking her hold on him.

Relief flooded over John as he finally felt alone in his own skull. He was gasping for air like a drowning man and he could finally steady himself against the tangle of vines at his back. When he looked up again, he saw the Queen staring in stunned dismay at the cell next to his. A shoe was lying discarded on the floor.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" John yelled at Catherine frantically.

"Saving your sorry ass!" she replied, drawing nearer to the vines and John.

"With a shoe?!” he asked, incredulous.

"Yes, with a shoe! Sorry I didn't have my P-90 on hand!" Catherine retorted.

"It seems violence and stupidity are common traits among your people," the Queen hissed, recovering from her indignation. "Bring me the female!"

"Come on," John wheedled. "She's not a threat to you. I mean, seriously, a shoe? You can leave her alone."

The Queen was not impressed. "She insulted me."

One of the two Wraith guards walked into Catherine's cell and grabbed her arm.

"Leave her alone!" John ordered, his brain agreeing with the stupidity comment.

Catherine wasn't putting up any resistance, but if the looks she was throwing the Wraith could kill, they'd be out of there in no time. John knew she was probably terrified, but her composure in life and death situations was nothing short of incredible.

The Wraith dragged her out of her cell and unceremoniously shoved her into John's. Losing her balance, she fell at the Queen's feet.

With surprising grace, the Queen reached down and grabbed Catherine by the hair, pulling her to her feet.

"Do you know how puny you are?" she asked, as if Catherine was a puppy who thought she was a hound.

Catherine didn’t so much as blink, her shockingly blue eyes on the queen. "No, but I definitely know your breath could kill a dragon,” she said, waving her hand in front of her nose like a fan.

She was suicidally brave, he had to give her that. To his utter horror, the Queen's hand reached for her chest with a hiss.

John charged blindly, shoving all his force against the hand she was holding Catherine with, forcing her to let go.

With a gasp, Catherine almost fell to the floor a second time. He grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him, barely in time to avoid the Queen's wrath. The thing's hand hit him instead to the side of his head. He almost passed out from the new wave of pain.

"You are right, she is not a threat," the Queen conceded. "She is an asset, and now I know how to use her."

o0o0o

The planet Radim had given them as the place where the exchange had taken place turned out to be home to a small community of Wraith worshipers - small, compared to the population of other planets, kind of scary as number of Wraith fanatics gathered in one place. Really scary, actually. It cost them the lives of two marines to capture one of the locals and they weren't making much progress with getting anything out of him, either.

Dr. Biro ran a test on him and confirmed he was stuffed with Wraith enzyme. His real self was probably long gone and the idea of waiting for him to go through the full withdrawal process before they could properly interrogate him was driving Elizabeth to the brink of madness.

"Is there no way of speeding the recovery process?" she asked.

"Not unless you're willing to take the risk of losing him and any info he might have," the doctor said, shaking her head. "There's too much of the enzyme in his system and you'd be left with a vegetable if we pushed any harder. Even like this, there's a risk his body won't be able to take the strain."

She had gone through the arguments in her head over and over again, but three days were too much to wait. They had already lost too much time, as it was.

She needed to be somewhere else. Staying in the lab wasn't helping anyone and she wasn't getting any work done, either. Eyes brimming with tears of frustration, she walked straight into Rodney in the corridor.

"Any news?" he asked, steadying her after the impact.

She shook her head, unable to repeat the prognosis Dr. Meyer had given her.

He awkwardly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and, neither of them knowing how to react at the moment, pulled her into an embrace that proved more comforting than even he probably expected.

o0o0o

"I'm not sure what exactly you're after, but I can assure you you're not getting anything out of us," John put on his most defying smile and pushed Catherine more firmly behind him. He hoped she wasn't going to try to outdo him again in the bravado department. He definitely had to have a serious talk with her when they got home. He lost track how many he'd promised her in his head, but it was the third one he was planning this week. Certainly, it was the most serious since the incident with the penknife. Compared to the shoe, the penknife seemed like the sanest choice of weapon.

"You will willingly give me everything I want once I'm through with you," the Queen assured him. "No one is able to say no once they have received the gift of life enough times."

She wasn't very explicit, but the implications were crystal clear. John had never seen anyone after they had gone through the process, but after his experience with Todd, he had heard rumors about the Wraith worshippers and how they were bound to their masters. Being drained of life once with Todd was enough, he didn't need that in his life again. He was sure he could handle whatever hold the Wraith might gain on him - he was apparently able to fight the mind control the Queens seemed to exert over others - but he wasn't eager to try his luck. So, he did what he was doing best. Try to stall until someone came to the rescue or an opportunity to escape came along.

"You sure that shoe didn't do anything funny to your head?"

He felt the sharp dig of Catherine's fingernails in the skin of his arm. She was apparently being the sane one now.

The Queen hissed in outrage. "I like your spirit. It will be so much more entertaining to watch you change."

He gave the two guards a long look and back at the Queen. "Neah, I don't think you guys are scary enough for me to need a change."

Catherine's nails dug deeper into his flesh and he wondered if she drew blood by now. "John," she whispered in his ear, "shut up!" She didn't need to say 'please', her voice was pleading enough.

"See? You're upsetting my lady, here," he said, trying to grab Catherine's free hand with the one she wasn't piercing.

"You are aware that I could kill her where she stands and you can do nothing to stop me," the Queen hissed, her grin growing wider.

John shrugged. "Yeah, well... doesn't hurt to try."

"Oh, it hurts, Col. Sheppard," she purred, dragging her claws over the skin of his cheek, sending a shudder of disgust and fear down his spine. "And it will hurt worse if you fight it. The pain alone might actually kill you."

He swallowed the knot of tension in his throat and plastered a cheeky smile on his lips.

Catherine was holding on tighter to his hand, clutching at him like a lifeline. He couldn't understand why she tried so hard to feign indifference when it was so obvious that she cared for him. Too much, at times.

"This doesn't sound too fun," John said through his teeth. "Why would I want to go through this?"

"You don't have to. I can take you and shape you however I please and you won't get to say a word." She cupped his cheek in her bony, clawed hand and tilted his head up. "But there are risks involved and the more you fight me, the more chances are that you'll get out of the process dead. And I want you alive and willing to fight by my side. For that, it's better if you give yourself to me willingly. Feast on the strength I offer."

John looked at her incredulously and amped up the shit-eating grin. "That shoe really _did_ do something to your brain, didn't it?"

"Joke all you want, human. You'll still have to choose. Do this the hard, painful and possibly deadly way, or cooperate and the female doesn't go through it at your side." She squeezed her fingers, her claws digging into his skin.

"Hey! You didn't say anything about Catherine before!" John startled. He had been stalling mostly for her sake, but he'd thought a swift death was all that was in store for her before. Even his torture would have bought her some time. 

There really wasn't much of a choice. Even if he would have ever considered allowing one of his people to go through that, he was certain she wouldn't be able to survive the procedure. And that was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

"If I agree to cooperate, do you give me your word you won't hurt her?" he offered through gritted teeth, ignoring the sting of the Queen's claws on the skin of his jaw.

"Oh, yes," the Queen assured him, easing her grip lightly. "As long as you survive, no one will lay a finger on her."

It wasn't their fingers John was worried about. And he trusted her as far as he could throw her - which was impossible, so the perfect description. Then again, what options _did_ he have? At least, if he took her offer, there was a chance Catherine would survive long enough for him to fake his way into the Queen's trust and get her out. He had no idea how many... sessions it normally took for someone to surrender, but he suspected the time they would begin to be surprised by his resistance would be about right. Sure, the procedure might actually work on him, but that was a thought he refused to contemplate at the moment.

"You can't just agree like that!" Catherine objected. She shook his hand and he finally realized what awkward position he found himself in - the child-looking doctor gripping his hand for dear life on one side and the hag Queen of the Wraith digging her bony fingers into his chin on the other.

o0o0o

When Kusanagi walked into the lab with a mug of tea, Rodney greeted her with a grateful smile and took it from her hands. The woman looked flustered and thanked him, walking backwards to her desk once her mission was complete.

He wasn't sure why he'd asked it as a favor of her, since she was always making tea, but he was trying to do something nice for Elizabeth and it probably rubbed off in his interactions with his assistant. Why she thanked him, though, was a completely different story that he was going to ponder when no one's life was in danger.

"I need to check on... Elizabeth... On something with Dr. Weir," he corrected himself, though no one was paying attention. "I'll be off, then..." he mumbled.

He found Elizabeth in her office, hunched over her tablet at the desk. By his calculations, she hadn't slept in about 48 hours and he was pretty sure that wasn't healthy, despite his own sleep schedule often skipping more than that.

He cleared his throat to signal his presence, but she didn't seem to hear him, absorbed in her reading.

Rodney hesitantly stepped through, unsure how he was supposed to act in the situation. He placed the mug of tea on the desk at her side and waited for her to notice the new addition.

It took a few seconds for the smell of tea to catch her interest. Her eyes traveled up from the mug to Rodney and she gave him a wary smile.

"Still no news?" she asked. The tone of her voice betrayed her resignation.

"No, but you should eat something. And so should I, for that matter. Care to join me?" he offered. She obviously needed a distraction and he definitely needed to get his blood sugar back to reasonable levels.

Elizabeth gave the tea another look, considering his offer. "You're probably right," she sighed and pushed herself out of the chair.

He walked her to the cafeteria, leaving the tea to turn cold on her desk.

o0o0o

Mind-bending pain spread through his body like wildfire and John couldn't think of anything else but the feeling of his life being sucked out of him. It left him through every nerve ending, searing through his skin and flowing into the creature in front of him.

He couldn't understand why the Queen thought it would be less painful if he didn't fight it. It hurt down to his bones. He didn't remember it being this bad with Todd, but then it had been spread over multiple feeding sessions during the course of a day.

A cry of agony passed his lips, despite his determination to remain silent.

He felt the Queen's satisfaction in the pull of life leaving him.

Never in his life had he felt such an incredible, soul-consuming pain and now it was coming back again and again and again.

He could at least have the sense to pass out and skip the conscious part of suffering, but his body had other plans. Even if the feeding process wasn't over yet, he could anticipate the bliss of the moment when his life would flow back into him. That torrent of energy and euphoria was all he lived for, it seemed. It consumed him more thoroughly than the part when he was fed on ever could.

His hands trembled as he squeezed them into fists, his nails digging into his palms.

At least she was okay. He knew that. They gave their word and so far they kept it. Catherine was surprisingly quiet, but safe. She hadn't uttered a word since this session began.

She watched. He knew she watched. Even when his hold on life was reduced to a thin thread, he knew she was watching. He could even see her cataleptic expression on the inside of his eyelids by now. She probably kept watching out of a sense of guilt, to torture herself for whatever imagined slight she thought herself responsible for.

His thoughts shattered abruptly when the flow of life was finally reversed. His cells rejuvenating, his lungs drawing in air to feed fresh blood, his chest pushing into the Queen's hand, craving for more. He needed to seal their contact, to get every drop of life that had been taken away back.

It still hurt. The energy was burning his nerves, his blood cells, his skin, his organs with the life it was flooding back into them, bringing them back from the edge of death. It was a mixture of blinding pain and excruciating euphoria. Better than anything he ever felt and worse than the most painful torture he had been subjected to. The fact that he was enjoying it was even worse. He craved it. He needed to know that at the end of life came this.

Eventually, the hand pulled away from his chest and he stared unfocused at the Queen that loomed above him.

"Enough for today," she said, almost motherly. "You'll be of no use if you die and that is what's going to happen if I push. You can rest now. I'll let your female lick your wounds."

John couldn't form coherent sounds.

She left.

He felt small hands on him. Cool and soothing, they were checking if he was in one piece.

Why was she doing that? She had been there. She had seen everything. He was fine.

"You idiot!" she whispered, and she didn't sound angry at all.

John felt his bindings being loosened, frantic fingers brushing against his skin as she worked on them.

He crumpled into her arms, too weak to stand on his own, and she cradled his head against her shoulder, kissing his hair and murmuring soothing words.

Being held in her arms felt as right and natural as breathing. Silently, John rested his head on her shoulder and allowed himself to close his eyes for a moment. He was safe now.

o0o0o

Catherine had no idea how much time had passed. It could’ve been years, for all she knew.

At first, the Queen came to their cell at regular intervals to subject John to 'the procedure'. She drained his life to the brink of death, then offered it back to him and left him broken in her arms.

During the procedure, she refused to look away. It was the least she could do for him. Turning away felt too much like abandoning him.

She wasn't in love with him, she realized. Love was not a strong enough word to describe what she felt. She was mad about him. She would have gladly offered herself in his place a thousand times over if she could. Once, she tried grabbing the weapon off of one of their guards. She only won herself a minor concussion and the confirmation that they were indeed forbidden from harming her, or that concussion would have been much more serious. Trying her luck was still stupid, but she couldn’t stand by while the man she loved more than life iteself was tortured before her eyes.

She wondered how much longer he could resist. Every time left him weaker and it pained her beyond words to watch him like that.

He was shaking in her arms, his body fighting to restore some sort of order to its workings, and she could do nothing about it. She could only hold him and talk him to sleep.

The last couple of times, the Queen had him dragged off somewhere else. Catherine could no longer watch and she could no longer be sure that she'd see him alive once they were done with him.

She paced her cell - ten steps on every side, more or less - and kept her fingers crossed that what they'll bring back this time would still resemble John in more than the physical. The mere thought that this time would break him for good, or even worse, kill him, was shredding her sanity.

After an eternity of waiting, the door to the cell opened with a loud clang and a huge male Wraith threw him inside before slamming the door shut. Shaking and sweating, his eyes sunken and unfocused, John looked half-past dead, but still conscious.

She knelt beside him and pulled his head into her lap, running a soothing hand through his hair. He was burning up and his breath was coming out in short gasps, pain clearly etched on to his face.

"John, can you hear me?" Her voice was quiet, but it was all she could do to get the words past the lump in her throat.

“Please, listen to me,” she said, pressing two fingers on his wrist to check his pulse. It was erratic and she could count over 250 beats/minute.

This was bad. Really bad.

He mumbled something incomprehensible and swatted at the hand she kept on his wrist.

"I need you to calm down," she continued, her voice a little more confident. She _was_ good at this, after all. "Breathe with me," she insisted. "Please, John! Breathe with me!"

She wasn't sure if her instructions were being followed or not, but his breath slowed down a fraction and the hand he had used to swat at her was now resting lightly on hers.

"Please, don't let them do this to you again! You'll die if they do,” she pleaded.

After what seemed like an eternity, his fingers squeezed gently on her hand and his eyes finally focused on her. "I'm fine," he mumbled, not sounding fine at all.

Catherine, tears choking her throat, nodded.

"Yes, you are," she agreed, forcing the tears down.

He was alive and the worst had passed, but there was no escape for them, no place to run. This was going to happen again and again until he either died or turned into a worshiper. And she could do nothing to keep him safe.

Silently, she leaned down and pressed her lips against his, pouring all of her feelings into the kiss, showing him everything that she could not say.

His breath rushed out and his body tensed beneath her fingertips. Then, slowly, softly, he cupped her cheek in his palm and his lips responded to hers, as warm and real as every memory she had of him.

A few seconds later, his arm fell limply to his side and he slipped into a deep, merciful sleep. She pulled him closer and held him tight, as if he was going to vanish at any moment. Then, her eyes fell on the feeding marks on his chest and she could no longer suppress the anguished tears welling up in her chest, her heart breaking.

Her reckless, broken hero, always putting his life on the line for others. He had submitted himself to torture for her, and in turn she helped him get through it so he could suffer some more.


	3. Chapter 3

Once his head cleared enough to form coherent sentences that weren't death threats aimed at everyone on Atlantis, their prisoner turned out to be a former Genii soldier. Apparently, he had been kidnapped by the Wraith and subjected to repeated feedings through which he had been pumped full of the enzyme that conditioned his loyalty as a Wraith worshipper. Now that its effects were wearing off, his people's legendary hatred for the Wraith awoke in him with a vengeance. If he weren't so weak, the man might have volunteered to join them on whatever mission they set out on as long as it resulted in the destruction of the lab he had been tortured and conditioned in.

As far as the location of the lab was concerned, he didn't have any useful information. All he could tell them was that it took the Wraith about an hour to arrive when their worshippers called. It was not reachable by Gate, that he knew for certain, since they never came to the planet he had been stationed on through there. He couldn't even tell them if they were on a planet or a Hive Ship, he was too out of it when they had taken him there back at the beginning.

It was little to go on, but not impossible to work out a location from that. At least, that was what Rodney seemed to think and he dragged Zelenka back to the lab with him.

"The easiest thing is to rule out any planets with a Gate that are further than the one-hour time frame he's given us," Rodney was saying, feeding the data into his tablet.

"Already on it," Zelenka said, pushing his tablet in front of Rodney, his calculations already in progress. "I've added variables to account for the presence of a Hive Ship, too. It's a possibility we obviously can't ignore."

"I still think it has to be a planet," Rodney insisted. "A Hive would be easy to scan for and it's more valuable in battle than it is as a research facility."

"We can't assume it's used solely for research," Zelenka pointed out.

Rodney rubbed his hands over his eyes in frustration. "Damn Wraith!" Their research practices were even scarier than some of their war tactics and he didn't want to contemplate a mix of the two, though it was increasingly probable they did that.

His tablet chirped, alerting Rodney that the calculations were finished. "What did I tell you?" Rodney gloated at the Czech, turning his tablet around so both could look at the results. "There's two possible planets they could come from. One doesn't seem to have a Gate, so that is our planet."

Zelenka nodded, but frowned at the results at a closer look. "Something doesn't seem right, though."

A few moments of silent contemplation later, Zelenka's calculations were done as well. They came back with three possible planets, two of them matching Rodney's results. "Looks like we're looking at the wrong option," he told the Canadian after a closer look. "P2X - 42D might have had a Gate at the beginning, but not anymore. What it still has is a rich concentration of oxygen."

"But 3PT - 42F looks so much sneakier!" Rodney insisted. "Why do they have to dash my expectation?"

"It might have something to do with the lack of breathable atmosphere," came the infuriatingly smug answer.

"It wouldn't have bothered them if they were being _really_ sneaky," Rodney insisted, not really sure why he was fixated on that.

Half an hour later, the rescue team made up of Ronon, Teyla, McKay and Major Lorne were in the Jumper and ready for departure.

"Get them back, Major!" Elizabeth said by way of goodbye.

No one dared to state the obvious - that they might not have what to bring back.

o0o0o

John hadn't returned yet.

She couldn't be sure how long it had been, but it was the longest he'd been gone so far.

Between John's torture sessions, the constant threat posed by the guards and the times she had to take care of his unconscious self, Catherine hadn't slept for more than five minutes at a time. Her head hurt. Her eyes hurt. Her bones hurt. She didn't realize that. She didn't even realize she hadn't eaten since she had been captured. The Wraith didn't even need to touch her to torture her - they kept their word, yet she was barely conscious anyway, her worry over John's fate being the only thing that kept her standing and the main source of her torment.

Why were they keeping him so long this time?

She could only imagine something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong. The last time they brought him back, she needed more than an hour to get him to form coherent thoughts. Not to mention his heart rate. No matter how strong he was, any man subjected to such strain would eventually cave under the pressure.

Was she ever really annoyed by his smile? She would have given anything to see him smile right now. Even just seeing him alive would have been enough. Even hearing him bring up Larrin or the Harem to annoy her would have been a far better alternative than waiting in the dark, knowing nothing of what was going on with him.

She stood up and started pacing like a caged animal.

If he was going to follow in Daniel's footsteps and die, what then?

If she were honest with herself, it wasn't any of that small stuff she had ruled as annoyances that was keeping her away from him. Not the competition, not his smile, not the Casanova charm, not the ruffled hair. She was afraid of getting close again to someone so willing to put his life in danger for the sake of others. She had gone through that one too many times. She knew how it would play out and she didn't have the heart for it. Not anymore. And now here she was. Denial couldn't keep her from the truth anymore.

She clenched her fists.

"Oh, God, please don't let him die!" she whispered into the dark. She had long forgotten how to pray and even as she did it, her words rang strange in her ears. "If ever there was anyone willing to give his life for the sake of others, John is that one. He's the best of the two of us. If one of us is to get out of here alive, please make it be him! He deserves it better than me."

Tears rolled hot down her cheeks and she slid down against the door to the cell. Her fingers clenched around the vines with surprising force, her knuckles going white, she pressed her forehead against the organic wall.

"Bring him back alive! Please! It's all I'll ever ask."

o0o0o

With the Jumper cloaked and hidden a safe distance from the Wraith lab, Maj. Lorne led his team into action. It seemed the Wraith weren't expecting visitors, so they had left the entrances unguarded, making their advance easier. You couldn't say they had any objections to this turn of events, for once.

The place didn't look deserted, but it was suspiciously quiet. They seemed to have been walking down corridors for miles with no Wraith or worshipper in sight. Not that they had a lot of experience with their research facilities, but the lack of security was becoming more unsettling with every new unguarded corridor they turned into.

"Do you guys smell an ambush? Because I smell an ambush and I don't particularly like that scent," McKay gave voice to the thoughts that were brewing in everyone's minds.

"It technically smells of rotting flesh and fear," Teyla corrected him and indeed it did. "But I can see how you would make that connection. There aren't many, but I can feel a significant Wraith presence." Her words were not reassuring.

"Do you ever feel anything positive? Like a Warren of rabbits, or a significant presence of anything else small and fluffy?" McKay commented, holding his gun like a club.

Another corridor and still nothing.

The sound of approaching footsteps made Lorne signal the others to take cover. There was only one set of footsteps from what he could tell and they sounded lighter than a Wraith, but the bastards could carry themselves a lot lighter than they looked, so that didn't say much. With his heart pounding in his ears, Lorne aimed his P-90 in the direction the steps were coming from.

He found himself pointing his gun at the head of his Colonel.

A sigh of relief left his lips and he lowered his weapon, the others coming out of hiding as well.

"What are you doing here?" Col. Sheppard asked, looking rather bewildered.

"We're taking an afternoon stroll. We heard the Wraith are excellent hosts," Rodney said, his sarcasm drowned in relief. "We're rescuing you, what do you think?"

Col. Sheppard looked on in confusion.

Of course someone as crafty as him would break out before they could get to him - Lorne thought, trying to find a logical explanation for his presence there. Catherine, on the other hand, was still unaccounted for and Lorne looked around, almost expecting to see her coming around the corner after Sheppard.

"Something's not right," he heard Ronon say and he could see in the corner of his eye the Satedan's hand reaching for his stunner. "He's got too many Wraith weapons on him." Which he did. He also looked too relaxed for someone escaping from the Wraith and not as happy to see them as the prospect of a rescue entailed.

Lorne reached for his stunner as well, but before he could tighten his fingers on the grip, he felt the familiar cold sensation of a stunner beam. He managed to look up to see Col. Sheppard with his own stunner in hand taking Ronon out as well. It had been an ambush after all.

o0o0o

Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside her cell and Catherine jumped to her feet in alert. Heart thumping in her chest, she strained her hearing to make out how many creatures there were - definitely more than two Wraith and an unconscious John. She could hear heavy things being dragged along.

"You gave me your word my friends will also receive your gift," John's voice reached her. He sounded confident, almost familiar around the Wraith, but that couldn't be. He was supposed to be barely able to speak after so many hours under their ministrations. At least he was alive and probably brewing a plan. She had to trust him.

"And they shall, once they regain consciousness," the Queen agreed, her voice ringing cold in the dark.

The group walked into her line of sight around the corner, John and the Queen leading the procession. Behind them, three large Wraith were dragging a number of unconscious bodies. John had said 'friends', her mind reminded her. Could this be their team coming to rescue them?

As they came close enough for her to recognize one of the human forms, her heart skipped a beat.

"I thought you were dead," was the first thing that came out of her mouth, though that wasn't what she had meant to ask.

He didn't even spare her a look.

Unlocking the door to the cell, John stepped aside in an almost respectful manner, allowing the Queen to enter.

Catherine stepped back.

"John?" she asked. "What is the meaning of this?"

To her utter horror, he actually looked exalted.

"I'm giving you the chance of eternal life," he beamed, their eyes meeting. There was a sort of madness in there that she knew he wasn't aware of. "I see things clearly, now."

"The hell you do," she hissed at him, turning a hateful eye on the Queen.

"The pain? The suffering? It all goes away and it's a worthy price to pay for reaching eternity," he said, the conviction in his voice making her blood run cold.

Seeing him dead would have been more painful, but less terrifying. She knew little about the possibility to reverse the whole process. What if he wasn't in there anymore? She knew him well enough to know he'd rather die than live like a slave to anyone.

She should have known better than to ask for favors from above.

"Even you will eventually come to see this for the blessing that it is," he assured her.

She shook her head. She knew all too well how blessings like this ended, even presuming her body wouldn't break under the strain, which it probably would.

Breaking eye contact, she turned to the Queen. The reptilian eyes of the creature were drilling holes into Catherine's skull and her mouth twisted into the threatening semblance of a smile. What remained of Catherine's survival instinct screamed at her to run, or cower in terror. Then she reminded herself how much she hated the bitch and how much she had taken from her. What more could she take? A swift death was preferable to slowly losing herself in the pain and forced bliss. If she survived, she might even have to kill John. She couldn't let him live like a living corpse. The mere thought was more frightening than a thousand Queens. 

Catherine tilted her head in defiance and hissed at the creature. "You'd better kill me at once! If I ever survive this, I _will_ come after you. I might not pose much of a threat to you now, but I swear to God, I will not rest until I end you!"

"You have more spirit than your puny size would indicate," the Queen hissed, advancing on her. "You might even survive the process and how will you thank me then," she promised. The creature was towering over Catherine, her fingers reaching for the chin.

Catherine slapped the bony claws away faster than her brain could remind her what a bad idea that was, and she pulled back a step.

Before the Queen's hand could reach her again, John stepped in between them. "You promised not to hurt her," he reminded the creature. His voice was even and his tone firm - he wasn't in command, but he wasn't afraid, either.

The Queen hesitated for a moment and, to Catherine's great surprise, she backed down. "I did, didn't I? And you know I keep my promises."

"Of course, my Queen. I thank you," he said, bowing his head.

Catherine felt sick.


	4. Chapter 4

The air around him sparked with electricity, prickling his skin. He felt like floating and he dreaded the thought he would eventually have to come down to earth now that his connection to the life-giving hand of his Queen had been denied him. For a few moments more, he was allowed to bask in her presence while he was too light to move without assistance.

Eyes closed, his mind wandered aimlessly at first, like it always did in the first moments after his sessions.

He couldn't remember ever feeling this full of life, not even in his teens. If Catherine and the others could really see what the Wraith could do for them, for all of them! He was doing them a favor, he knew that. Why was she so set against receiving this gift?

True, he had opposed the procedure at first, too. But he was grateful they had ignored his childish fears and moved on despite his protests. Knowing Catherine, she was doing this out of spite for him. With the right influence, she would eventually come around and join him for a change. She had kissed him, hadn't she?

He smiled at the memory. At the time, he had been too close to death to fully enjoy it, but he still remembered the taste of her lips and the warmth of her breath on his skin. After what happened back there, she couldn't deny him any longer. She was his woman, his partner, and his savior. They belonged together. Certainly, she could see that! And with the Queen’s gift, nothing could stand in their way.

"Once he's awake, he is to depart immediately," he recognized his Queen's voice.

"What are we to do with the prisoners?" someone asked.

John was about to open his eyes to see who was speaking, but a part of him warned him against it. Something about this was important, so he listened.

"The females are of no use other than as food. Feed on them and go through with the others."

"What about this one?"

"He will lead us straight to Atlantis."

John began to stir, knowing he couldn’t keep up the pretense of unconsciousness for long.

He had to do something. No matter how loyal he was to the Queen, there was no way in hell he would’ve let her harm Catherine.

o0o0o

It didn't take long for Rodney and the others to wake up. Thankfully, they had only been stunned as she had made sure was the case after John and the Wraith party had left them alone in the cell. Ronon was groggier than the others. Apparently, it had taken three blasts to keep him down and this had earned John his grudge until they could un-brainwash him. On the bright side, Teyla had informed her they had managed to break through the conditioning on one of the Wraith worshipers, so not all was lost.

They were listening to Rodney going for the third time over everything that was preventing them from escaping.

"We'll never get back to Atlantis. Not alive, anyway," he kept after listing every other thing that could go wrong.

"Will you stop complaining?" Ronon snapped. "We're getting out of this and we're taking Sheppard with us. I owe him a long ass-kicking."

"Sure, let him know that!" Rodney huffed. "It'll make him so much more willing to cooperate!"

"I'm not saying we aren't in danger now, but we have been in worse situations before," Teyla said appeasingly.

"Rodney," Catherine cut in. "I'm new to this sort of experiences, but you're not being very encouraging. Weren't you supposed to be the rescue party?"

Rodney stopped pacing the cell and look at her in bewilderment. "Of course, because if I tell you I can magically make force the door open, kill all the Wraith, capture Sheppard and get him to go with us to the Jumper, killing more Wraith and the Queen in the process, you'd actually buy it!"

"No, but it would sound better than hearing we're doomed, over and over again," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him pacing.

"We're gonna get Sheppard and get back to Atlantis," Ronon said firmly. "And then I'm going to kick his ass."

Rodney pursed his lips. "Of course, how didn't I think of that before?"

They were quiet for a moment, Catherine and Teyla sharing resigned looks. Maybe there wasn't a way out, after all.

Rodney seemed incapable of staying still.

"Maybe if we tell the Queen that we're willing to cooperate, but only if we get to talk to John first, we'll have the chance to snap him out of it. We talk to him. There must be something left of him in there! He's only been subjected to this for a few days. Even the Wraith worshiper we captured managed to pull out of it eventually. John has every chance to. He's stronger than that and he can't be that far gone!" Rodney blurted out, the optimism of his words not reflected in his voice.

"I don't know about that, but he seemed pretty far gone when he stunned us," Lorne commented.

"Even if he isn't that willing to listen, we can still grab his stunner and fight our way out, or something," Rodney defended his plan.

"And that's the part of the plan where we take out all the Wraith on the base with two stunners while dragging a brainwashed Sheppard again," Ronon added, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"You don't like my plan? You try coming up with something better!" Rodney snapped, pausing for an answer. "No? Nothing? Now I'm surprised! What happened to your 'can do' attitude?"

From the corner of her eyes, Catherine caught movement behind Rodney. Ronon and Teyla turned their heads in that direction as well, Rodney continuing his rant.

"John!" Teyla headed for the door.

Indeed, it was him and he looked a bit more like himself. Maybe because he was no longer escorted by Wraith and the Queen wasn't around for him to pay his respects to.

Without saying a word, he opened the door to the cell and signaled them to get out.

"Ye of little faith," Rodney said, heading for the open door. He patted John on the shoulder. "Great acting there!" he said. "You nearly had me fooled."

John didn't answer that and kept his eyes on the corridor while the others followed Rodney out.

"What made you change your mind?" Ronon asked, voicing her thoughts as well. She didn't believe for an instant that it had been merely acting. She had seen his eyes and that wasn't him behind them. He wasn't fully himself now, either, but he seemed more in control than before.

"Yeah, well... You know..." he said noncommittal. "We should hurry. There's no time to chat."

"You just read my mind," Rodney said, waiting for Lorne to catch up with him. "Mind giving me a weapon?"

"Because you're so good with them," Ronon commented. "It'll make all of us feel so much safer."

They ran through the corridors. Catherine couldn't help remarking how familiar John seemed with them.

His jacket had been torn apart and his chest bore the marks of the Queen's claws. He seemed alert and not as lost in his head as earlier. She wondered what had snapped him out of it. It wasn't something good, that was sure, and it was a little hard to believe he had simply broken free of his conditioning in a matter of hours.

She followed him closely, keeping him in sight, just in case he had another agenda.

Their first stop was the storage unit where their weapons had been abandoned. Ronon grabbed his Satedan stunner and seemed to grow more confident in their chances to get out now that he was whole again. Just for the sake of it, Catherine took a gun as well. It looked similar to the one she had practiced with Lorne and she hoped she could handle it well enough if she needed to. John took something that looked like explosives and stuffed his pockets with it. That looked promising.

"You go ahead!" he urged them, pointing them down another corridor. "The exit's that way, next to the Darts' hangar. I'll leave our friends a little gift and I'll catch up with you." He patted his pockets with a smirk, letting them guess what the surprise might be.

"Let's go!" Major Lorne hurried them along after a short hesitation.

Catherine threw him another look, while being dragged along by Rodney, who had apparently decided it was time to take up his role as her protector. Something was definitely wrong. This was going too smoothly. She ran a few more steps before it hit her. He had never asked for the Jumper's location. He never intended to follow.

She stopped abruptly, forcing Rodney to stop as well. "He's not coming, is he?" Rodney mirrored her thoughts.

"Nope," she said. "We have to go back."

Right about then, their luck ran out. The first blast went right by Lorne's shoulder and hit the wall behind him; everyone ducked for cover before any more hit. Acting by instinct alone, Catherine hid behind a cluster of vines and pulled out her gun. Her hands were firm on the grip and all she could think about was how the hell they were supposed to get back now. She refused to consider that John had orchestrated the ambush. If he wanted them in Wraith hands, he could have left them in the cell.

"I'm going after him," she yelled over the commotion.

"I'm coming with you," she heard Ronon say, running in her direction. Lorne was doing his best to cover their retreat and so did Teyla, their weapons firing continuously.

She hoped she and Ronon could reach safety without getting caught in the crossfire. She felt reassured by the big guy's presence at her side. For a moment, it looked like they were going to make it. Then a stray blast hit him straight in the back of his head, leaving him stunned on the ground.

"Go! Go!" Lorne shouted at her, already running for Ronon's fallen frame. "McKay, cover me! Teyla!"

Throwing a last glance behind, Catherine ran down the corridor. She hoped she remembered the right path, all the corridors looking the same to her. And what was with the creepy lighting? It looked like something out of a cheap horror movie.

The sound of the shooting was dying away and it looked like nobody followed her. She stopped, panting, and took stock of her surroundings. She was near the storage area, about the place they had split up. She pulled out her gun, just in case he had any funny ideas.

The explosive was discarded in one of the side-corridors leading away from the storage unit.

She held her gun tighter and she could feel her heartbeat in her hands. She was right about him doing something stupid. The question was, what was she going to do once she found him? Ronon would have been very useful in that regard, but without him there, there was no point lingering on it. It was all up to her now. No matter how much she hated taking control anywhere outside the Infirmary, she had no choice.

She eventually caught sight of him as he was taking a turn into another corridor and she rushed to catch up with him. She still had no idea what she was going to do once she was at his side.

"Stop where you are!" she called. It wasn't much, but it was the best she could come up with on the spot.

The gun was shaking in her hands, but she forced herself to calm down. She needed to show some authority here. It wasn't so much different from the Infirmary after all.

He turned to her, surprise all over his face. "What are you doing here?"

The nerve of him! It was the enzyme, she reminded herself, trying not to be disappointed.

He took a step towards her. "I'm just setting up the explosives and coming," he assured her.

"Think again flyboy. I haven't seen it first hand, but I've read about Ford and I know what this enzyme does to people. No way am I buying you were staying to light up the fireworks!"

They stared into each other's eyes for a tense few seconds, neither backing down. She could read the madness in his eyes again, but there was a hint of apology there that she hoped she wasn't imagining.

"I've seen where you set up the explosives," she said firmly. "Put down your weapons and don't try anything!" She wasn't as stupid as to let him armed anywhere near her at the moment. Come to think of it, letting him near her with _or_ without weapons was a bad idea under the circumstances.

"You're not going to shoot me," he pushed his luck, taking a step toward her. He smiled at her, the dimples in his cheeks making an appearance at the wrong time.

The John Sheppard that stood before her now was a frightening mix of charm, confidence, and a spark of madness that didn't come from him, so different from his usual self and nothing like the hurt and broken man she had nursed through the worst of his torture. She wanted nothing more than to believe he was in charge of his actions and he was going to join them out of this place as soon as he delivered a blow to the Wraith, but there was too much at stake.

He took another step in her direction, his eyes never leaving hers, and reached out. "Give me the gun, Catherine. You don't want to shoot me."

His eyes gave her a split-second warning before he lunged at her. Her finger squeezed the trigger and John collapsed, clutching his shoulder. Breathing hard, she took a step back and looked in horror at his face, contorted with pain and confusion. More than anything she wanted to check his wound, make sure it wasn't too bad, but she couldn't risk getting closer. If he tried to disarm her again, she wouldn't stand a chance.

So, she just looked at him, trying to determine his condition from a distance with a combination of guilt and relief.

Pressing his hand on the wound, John looked at her in bewilderment.

“You shot me!” he finally broke the silence.

“You left me no choice, John,” she said, swallowing the knot of tension in her throat.

“You… _shot_ me!” he repeated. „I didn't think you have it in you!”

Neither did she, but she could think about what it meant and how she felt about it later, after they got to Atlantis. Now she had to make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid. Again.

„Now you know. Don’t try that again,” she warned. “I _will_ shoot you and carry you out if I have to.”

He gave her an incredulous look. “You can't carry me,” he protested. “I’ve been told I’m heavier than I look.”

He was probably right, but she would try anyway, even if it meant being captured again. She just cocked an eyebrow and armed the gun. “Don’t test me, John. I’m not leaving anywhere without you.”

He slowly managed to get up on his own, but wisely kept his distance. "Who the hell though it was a good idea to teach you to shoot?" he hissed.

"You can thank Gen. O’Neill _and_ Maj. Lorne later," she said, wondering if she could put the gun away now and deciding against it. "Now will you give me your weapons?"

"I thought you liked me," he grumbled, putting down his gun and fishing out the stunner from his belt.

She refused to comment on his statement.

"You can lose the knives, too."

"You don't think I'd actually attack you, do you?" He sounded hurt and not just the wound in his shoulder.

"I wouldn't know. You're not exactly being yourself. Throw me your radio!" she ordered.

"What do you need that for? It's not like I could stab you with it," he argued, but obeyed nonetheless.

She didn't dignify him with a retort, but instead called Lorne over the radio.

o0o0o

"We're never gonna make it to the Jumper carrying _Ronon_!" Rodney whined seconds after they started dragging 200 pounds of unconscious Satedan after them. Teyla had killed the last Wraith and now they were looking for the quickest way out of the base.

"You know, it would have been so much better if you were the one who got stunned," Lorne commented from under Ronon's other arm. "A bit easier to carry and a lot more silent."

"You took the thought out of my head," Rodney surprisingly agreed with him and sounded like he meant it.

The distance to the hangar exit seemed interminable under Ronon's weight and by the time they reached it, it was painfully obvious that Rodney was right. They weren't going to make it to the Jumper like this. Other Wraith were bound to come after them, not to mention the Queen, and they'd be sitting ducks out there.

"Should we just sit down and wait? I'd rather die rested, you know?" Rodney again voiced their thoughts in his signature disheartening manner.

"Maybe we don't have to," Teyla said, looking around. "We can take alternative transportation out of here."

"I hope you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," McKay looked suspiciously at the Darts in the hangar. "Those things can't carry passengers!"

Teyla gave him an unwavering look.

"No. No, no, no! I'm not letting you disintegrate me!" McKay said, waving his hands to add more weight to his words. "Been there, remember? Got stuck with another person in my head! I don't wanna share headspace with Ronon! Or you, Major, no offense."

"You can fly this thing, right?" Lorne asked Teyla, ignoring McKay's blabbering.

"If I can get it off the ground, I can probably get us out," she said, a little more hesitant than it would make Lorne comfortable. "I've seen how the transport beam works, so it should be no problem."

There was still the problem of Catherine and Sheppard being still on the base. As far as Lorne remembered, Sheppard could fly one of these things, but he had no idea if he was in control of himself enough to want to leave in the first place and Catherine definitely had no idea how to pilot a Dart. He helped a very grumpy McKay drag Ronon near a Dart and grabbed his radio.

As if on cue, the device came to life in his hand, ringing with Catherine’s voice. "Maj. Lorne, I've got him. Give me the Jumper's location so we can meet you there."

"There's been a change of plans," he informed her and briefed her on the latest developments. He gave her the Jumper's location, but he found at least one problem with the plan. The Jumper was still cloaked and they wouldn't be able to get to it, even considering Sheppard would have been willing to pilot it. As he spoke, an idea came to him. "I'll wait for you there," he told her, terminating the conversation.

After all, Teyla could handle an injured Ronon and a grumpy Rodney while de-materialized, but Catherine would need help with a brainwashed Colonel.

o0o0o

John kept looking back at her and the gun she kept pointed at him as he advanced toward the coordinates Lorne had given her for the Jumper. He was not looking pleased to be leaving, to put it mildly. He tried to beg and cajole his way out of accompanying her, even appealed to her feelings for him. Unfortunately for him, those exact feelings were driving her to point a gun at his back and keep him from running back to his Queen. She was doing this for his good.

He even had the nerve to bring up the kiss she had hoped he couldn't remember. She should have learned from previous encounters that his mind was particularly good at remembering this sort of details, embarrassing and out of context as they may be. Fortunately for both of them, he hadn't tried to double-cross her, so at least part of him wasn't entirely lost.

She was tired. She hadn't slept in... God knows how long, she had worried herself sick over John for just as long, she was in physical pain, her eyes were losing focus, her limbs were beginning to lose coordination, and she didn't know how much longer she could hold it together.

The air outside was hot and dusty, and a sandstorm was brewing on the horizon. She hurried John towards the Jumper, a couple of hundred feet ahead of them. She could already see Lorne running their way. 

A gust of wind and sand hit her face and she squeezed her eyes against it. The next thing she knew, John's hand gripped her wrist and was twisting the gun out of her hand.

Catherine struggled to keep hold. She knew she didn't really stand a chance, but she only needed to stall until Lorne reached them, so she bit his hand as hard as she could without drawing blood, counting more on the shock than on the actual pain she would induce. It actually worked, John's grip on her loosening and him staring at her in... horror? Shock, at least.

"You're hurting me!" she cried, appealing directly to his protective side, counting on instincts that were rooted deeper than his recent conditioning. She lifted her head to meet his eyes. “Please, stop!" The sheer agony etched on his face made her heart ache and tears started to well up in her eyes. “Damnit, I’m not strong enough to hold you! Stay with me, my love!"

The last words came out in a chocked sob, but the startled look on his face told her he heard her just fine. Swallowing, he took a step back, his grip on her hand turning into the gentlest hold. Stripped of his showy confidence, with his bloody arm hanging limply at his side, he looked vulnerable and awkward, almost like he had no clue what to do or say next.

Catherine let her gun fall to the ground and turned fully to him. She reached out with her free hand and touched his cheek. She wished there was an easy way to fix everything, even their own broken, twisted lives, but there was no such easy way. There were so many things left unspoken, hanging in the dry air between them.

For a long moment they just stood there, less than a step apart. Unable to move. Unable to look away. 

"Col. Sheppard, step away from her!" Lorne called from behind him.

John stepped back, letting go of her wrist and leaving her with the other hand still cupping the air where his cheek had been.

"Dr. Spencer, are you okay?" Lorne asked, alarmed.

She nodded, not taking her eyes off him. She was still looking at John when his eyes left hers. The sudden loss of contact felt like a lost step.

Silently, she took his hand in hers and walked with him to the Jumper. Once they were close enough, Lorne deactivated the cloaking mechanism and helped her secure John inside. All the fight seemed to have gone out of him and he was just going along with whatever they needed him to do, allowing himself to be strapped securely in. She sat him in the back, where it would be easier for her to dress his wound and give him a brief checkup once they were off of the damn rock.

A sudden gust of wind blew dust into the Jumper, reducing the visibility like thick smoke. Faster than she could have thought possible, John's hand moved to Lorne's holster, bent over him to check on his straps.

Catherine opened her mouth to scream. She was shocked into silence by the blast of the gun.

As the dust cleared, she could see the Wraith Queen falling in the door of the Jumper, a black flower blossoming in the middle of her forehead.

Silently, John handed the weapon back to a stunned Lorne and sat back in his seat.

"It might be better if we tied you up properly, sir," Lorne considered, coming out of shock. "I've seen how violent someone can get during withdrawal and we don't know how long until it kicks in."

John gave Lorne a silent nod of approval.

Catherine stared blankly at the dead Queen. If John were less aware of himself just moments before, any of them could have shared the Queen's fate. Maybe even both. Even though for the time being he seemed to be in control of his actions, she had no idea of what may come next and he was too well trained and experienced in combat for them to take any chances with him.

She waited patiently for him to tie John up before she got out the med kit and started to patch him up.

With a lurch, the Jumper took off, stirring up a cloud of dust. In its wake, the dust settled back, blanketing the Queen's unmoving frame in its reddish embrace.

o0o0o

Half an hour later, the silence in the Jumper began to dawn on Lorne. He hadn't heard any sound from behind in quite some time. He left the command chair for a moment to check on the two passengers.

Catherine had taken up the rest of the seat next to Sheppard and curled up to sleep. Her head was resting in his lap, looking at ease and completely unconcerned with the danger he posed. The scene he'd so abruptly interrupted back in the desert suddenly started to make a lot more sense.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Tales of Atlantis Fan Art](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25093996) by [JannaJ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JannaJ/pseuds/JannaJ)




End file.
